As of January 2025, official data shows that the United States still has the world’s largest gold reserves at 8,133.5 tonnes, well ahead of Germany which is in the second place with 3,351.5 tonnes gold. After that is Italy, France, Russia and China, with gold reserves of 2,451 tonnes, 2,437 tonnes, 2,335 tonnes and 2,279 tonnes respectively.
This, coupled with recent concerns over possible Trump tariffs, has led to a massive inflow of gold and silver into the United States.
Swiss exports to the U.S. soared to the highest level in at least 13 years in January, Swiss customs data showed on Thursday. Industry insiders believe that while the risk of tariffs on gold and silver is low, banks and investors still have reasons to save for a rainy day.
At the same time, the discussion about whether gold should resume the role of ‘hard currency’ is heating up. If the trend continues, the future of gold may not only be seen as hedge assets, it will take a more important position in the monetary system.
Thorsten Polleit, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Bayreuth, said that from a long-term perspective, the United States of America’s gold and silver stockpiles continue to increase, coupled with the government’s renewed focus on gold and silver reserves, may improve people’s expectations these two precious metals as a currency alongside the U.S. dollar.
Using gold and silver as hard currencies alongside the dollar could address inflation, which has become a major threat to the economy. However, he added that in this case, the price of gold and silver would have to rise a lot to accommodate the size of the U.S. economy.
According to Polleit, the unsustainable growth of US debt has pushed the Fed and fiat currency to their limits. The Fed’s rescue of the U.S. economy has severely mispriced risk in the markets. And properly repricing these market risks is no easy task, which is one of the reasons many investors are turning to gold.
Polleit points out that gold has proven its worth time and time again over thousands of years in history. So far this year, gold has been a dominant force in the global currency markets, hitting record highs against all major currencies.
Many analysts have speculated that the US government may put a market mark-up on its gold reserves, which have been valued at $42 per ounce since 1972. With the price of gold now rising to close to $3,000 an ounce, a revaluation of the US gold reserves could add almost $800bn to government assets.
Last year, Judy Shelton, who is considered Trump’s pick for Fed chair, argued that the government should issue bonds payable in gold.
Polleit believes that the long-term gold price will have to move higher as governments seek to monetise their gold reserves. Volatility may continue in the short term, but gold and silver are clearly in a bull market.
